I don’t know about you, but this summer is going by very quickly. I know some of you may be going back to school this week or preparing to go back in a few weeks; here in New York, we still have a little summer left, as we don’t start back until after Labor Day.

But regardless, it’s quick.

At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of 5 things I wanted to work on outside of teaching. In this episode, I’ll share what was on that list, how it’s going so far, and what I’m spending time on this month.

Last week, I taught a brand-new beginner her very first piano lesson.

Cora is 5 1/2 and is mature for her age. She is the youngest of three - her two older brothers also study with me. In fact, the oldest started with me when he was 5, a few weeks after Cora was born, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment.

I love starting beginners in the summer, before the beginning of the new school year because it’s less chaotic. This gives us a few weeks to get into the rhythm of lessons and playing at home so that routine is already established by the time school starts.

A friend of mine from college reached out to ask about how to find a piano teacher for her two young children:

"Any pointers on how to find the right person?" she asked in a DM. "Do you think going to a school is better or finding someone to come to us is better?"

The interview process for finding a music teacher goes both ways:

• The teacher is interviewing the student and family to assess musical, physical, and emotional readiness; determine if the student (and parents) have the same goals for musical study; and evaluate whether or not they'd be a good fit in the studio. We talked about this in the last episode, Ep. 072 - The Case for Consultations in the Music Studio. So, go back and listen to that, if you missed it.

• At the same time, the student (and often the parents) are interviewing the teacher to assess musical skills and qualifications, teaching style, method and curriculum choices, and extracurricular offerings.

Years ago, I received an email from a piano teacher asking about initial consultations and interviews.

“What do you do? What questions do you ask? How long should it be? What materials do you give them?” These are great questions!

Here are some of the reasons I offer consultations to prospective families in my studio:

1. They give you an opportunity to meet prospective students (and their parents) face-to-face before either of you commit to lessons.

2. For students who are transferring from another teacher, it's important to see what music they're currently working on, assess what they know, and determine where you want to begin in your first lesson.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to structure a prospective student consultation (including what to have the student bring or prepare ahead of time), six questions to ask, how to plan your time together, and how to onboard new students and families after the consultation.

Welcome to another episode of the Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning podcast. Today’s episode is part 3 of a series I’ve been working on this spring all about how to plan and organize a musical informance.

I first mentioned the idea of a musical informance in Ep. 068. An informance is basically an informal performance or an informational performance where you share insight into the music and the learning process with the audience. In Ep. 068, I shared a few examples of musicians who exemplified this model of education and engagement in the past, talked about what separates an informance from a performance and how you could structure this in your studio, and shared how my students and I were preparing for this event.

In Ep. 069, I talked more specifically about the theme of our informances this spring—music to celebrate the Total Solar Eclipse happening here in Rochester. I shared my repertoire list, the questions I asked my students as they prepared, how I built in opportunities for student creativity and input, and how I organized the event with parents and families.

Today, I’m sharing how it all went including three things I learned, what went well, and what I would do differently next time.

The birds are chirping, the first Spring flowers are popping up in the front yard, and Rory, my dog, insists on laying in the middle of the daffodil bed whenever the sun is out.

These are my seasonal cues that it's time to start planning for our annual end-of-year studio recital. To give you a little context, I think I've mentioned before that I teach at a private school. It's nursery through 12th grade and I teach in the after-school program. Most of my students attend this school, so having our recital on-site is easy and convenient for everyone (and it gives us an opportunity to practice on the piano in the space during our lessons a few weeks ahead of time, which is helpful).

This year, Rochester, NY is in the path of the total solar eclipse. There are lots of special events happening in town—the orchestra is performing a special concert, the science museum is hosting a festival, and the schools are giving everyone the day off to experience this historical event.

As I looked ahead at this year, I thought it might be fun to plan a special event of our own to mark this occasion in the studio. Maybe special repertoire? An incentive program?

Then I thought about the informances the performing ensembles at my school put on early in the year: an informal demonstration for parents of what they're learning and what they're working on.

What if we did something like this in the studio? I thought.

Today, I'm taking you behind the scenes in real-time as I research, plan, and organize my first informance for my students. I'll share a few historical examples of musicians who exemplified this model of education and engagement, talk about ways you could structure this, outline the necessary components that separate an informance from a performance, and share how my students and I are preparing for this event.

"It feels almost like if we don't document it, did it happen? And I need proof that it did."

I was listening to an interview with Erin Napier of Hometown on Southern Living's Biscuits and Jam podcast recently and this statement stayed with me.

"A major part of my personality is documenting," she said, and I nodded to myself.

In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned about the art and practice of documentation, six things I'm documenting in the studio lately, practical resources I use to track and organize this data, and suggestions for developing this practice in your music studio.

Do you improvise with your students?

If you have a classical background like I do, you may not consider yourself an improviser, but researchers and educators Christopher Azzara and Richard Grunow remind us that "we are [all] born improvisers, as evidenced by our behavior in early childhood." (source)

In their series, Developing Musicianship Through Improvisation, they define improvisation as "the spontaneous expression of meaningful musical ideas." It doesn't mean making things up in the moment; it means making meaningful choices, sequencing patterns, snippets, and ideas from a vast vocabulary of musical material, as I talked about in the last episode, Ep. 065.

In this episode, I'm sharing a simple improvisation prompt I use with my elementary students this time of year.